Attending the International Assistance Group Forum in Bogota

Last week, I had the pleasure of representing CareJet at the biannual International Assistance Group (IAG) Forum, held in Bogota, Colombia. The IAG is a unique global alliance of independent assistance companies and qualified service providers operating across all five continents that CareJet is a member of.

It was a fantastic opportunity to catch up with our existing IAG partners, as well as meeting some new members that have joined the group from the United Arab Emirates and China, we really look forward to collaborating with them in the future.

The forum provides an excellent platform for partners to come together, network, learn about each other’s capabilities and discuss best practice within the industry.

Over the course of the week, I attended some very informative sessions and I think it’s worth picking up on a few particular notes. The first one I’d like to touch on was around new updates to the IAG Globus Database which provides the CareJet case specialists with access to reputable partners worldwide. The database has an international network of over 3,400 roadside and medical partners and correspondents, air ambulances, hospitals, out-patients centres and doctors worldwide – a fabulous resource that enables CareJet to provide a high quality, rapid response for our customers.

Another session, which I found interesting, featured a social media expert who focused on the importance of crisis management within our industry. It provided not only an insight into innovative, emerging practices but also led to some fascinating discussion among members about the importance of open, regular, transparent communication with our clients and with other partners – something that CareJet is deeply committed to.

The final session that I’d just like to talk about was on the highly sensitive subject of the repatriation of mortal remains. When a family member passes away, it can be a very difficult time regardless of the situation, but it can be far more distressing if it happens when travelling abroad.

Over the years our team at CareJet has helped many clients that have found themselves in just such a situation and we’re very proud of the ability of our team in these most difficult of times, where we are able to remove the pressure and handle the sometimes bureaucratic processes on behalf of the family, made more distressing due to unfamiliar laws, culture and language.

Just to round off, it was really great, over the course of the week, to have the opportunity to catch up with many of CareJet’s existing clients as well. As the President & CEO, it is always refreshing to hear from our customers how pleased they are with the service provided by our case specialists – in particular the level of care, meticulous attention to detail and commitment to quality that they have experienced from our CareJet team, which is why we are their provider of choice for medical assistance and air ambulance provision in the Philippines.

I’d just like to say a big thank you to the IAG, our fellow members, and of course the excellent keynote speakers throughout the course of the week – I’m looking forward to catching up again later in the year.